Digital Learning & Technology

Online Professional Development Opportunity

Beginning in the fall of 2007, Massachusetts educators will have an opportunity to participate in a new series of curriculum-focused courses through the Partnership for Online Professional Development (POPD). Launched in 2007, the POPD program is designed to improve teaching practices, promote student learning, and provide districts with capacity-building solutions through the use MassONE and other innovative educational practices. The POPD program will offer approximately eight courses in the fall of 2007, followed by nearly twice as many courses in the summer of 2008. The online courses will focus on improving student learning of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and K-12 Instructional Technology Standards. There will be no fee to participate in the courses, although some of the courses will offer graduate credit for a fee. Eight school districts received competitive grants to work with the Department on this project: Brockton, Cambridge, Easthampton, Community Day Charter, New Bedford, Northampton Smith Vocational, Springfield, and Winchendon. These districts are partnering with curriculum specialists and online learning experts, including CAST, the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association (MESPA), Virtual High School (VHS), Education Development Center (EDC), WGBY/PBS TeacherLine, Community Partners Initiative, and Cambridge College. During the summer of 2007, the grant recipients will work with their partners, in cooperation with the Department, to develop online courses in the areas of mathematics, science, and English language arts. These courses will be offered in the fall on a space-available basis, with preference given to educators from the district receiving POPD grants. Course descriptions and registration details will be posted here in August. In the spring of 2008, teams of educators from the funded districts will receive training in strategies for teaching online. These trained teams will then teach curriculum-focused courses to educators across the state in the summer of 2008. An estimated 16 courses will be offered. Additional details about the 2008 courses will be provided in the spring. For more information about the program, contact Susan Hargrave at shargrave@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6844.



Last Updated: June 13, 2007



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